Chapter 1510   The Problem of ‘It Appears’

Ao Xieyun scratched his head, “That’s too risky!”

“Diwu Qingrou is by nature cautious and won’t make such a mistake.” Mo Tianji’s eyes gleamed, “So, he won’t believe I’d commit such a taboo either. If Diwu Qingrou could predict our moves in advance, we would’ve already lost this battle.”

“But I’m confident that Diwu Qingrou won’t foresee this!”

As Mo Tianji sped forward, he said indifferently, “Because I didn’t think of it beforehand either. This decision was made on a sudden whim, and the time it took to make the decision and set off to reach this place 500 miles away was less than half an hour.”

!!

Ao Xieyun was taken aback, “You mobilized the entire army on a whim?”

“I was surprised myself! So, Diwu Qingrou is even less likely to predict it.” Mo Tianji looked at the Li family troops dressed in white, nearly blending into the snowstorm, and smiled somewhat smugly.

“What’s next?” Ao Xieyun asked.

Mo Tianji frowned and said, “Now, there’s no plan. Diwu Qingrou’s tactics are so elusive that I can only react to his moves… and decide on the next step.”

Ao Xieyun fell silent.

Mo Tianji laughed and patted Ao Xieyun on the shoulder, “Different enemies require different strategies… Yes, that’s it.”

With that, Mo Tianji dashed forward, leaving Ao Xieyun behind, obviously not wanting to discuss the topic further.

Scratching his head, Ao Xieyun asked Rui Butong, “What do you think?”

Rui Butong rolled his eyes, “What do I think? When Mo Tianji is around, I’ve never had to use my brain.”

Ao Xieyun was choked with anger and cursed, “Damn it! You never use your brain even when Mo Tianji isn’t around! You’re brainless!”

Rui Butong almost froze, inexplicably retorted, “What does this have to do with me… Why are you suddenly attacking me for no reason…?”

Ao Xieyun had already soared dozens of yards away.

…

After several encounters, Diwu Qingrou had come to deeply understand the prowess of Mo Tianji on the other side.

He had never faced such a formidable opponent before, and for a moment, his fighting spirit burned fiercely.

Diwu Qingrou had always been the one leading others by the nose, but now he felt a sense of losing control. Every time they clashed, it seemed like Mo Tianji knew exactly what he wanted to achieve!

When Mo Tianji wanted to cooperate with him, which usually meant Diwu Qingrou was trying to gain some advantage, Mo Tianji would follow his deployment and even make concessions, allowing him to achieve his goals.

For example, boosting morale, increasing prestige, accelerating the growth of the Diwu Clan, and so on.

However, when Mo Tianji didn’t want to let Diwu Qingrou gain those benefits, when Diwu Qingrou was aiming for a greater profit, Mo Tianji would often strike back hard, either destroying everything or cutting off the plan at its waist… and this was done with remarkable precision.

Of course, when Diwu Qingrou wanted something, he had to leave room for Mo Tianji to gain something as well, albeit a smaller share. He had to send signals in advance, and only then would Mo Tianji cooperate.

In other words, if he could not present his adversary with a profitable proposition, the latter would certainly not cooperate. And when there was any activity on the other side, when someone sought to gain benefits or authority, their actions would clearly hint at their intentions. At that point, he would see the corresponding benefits; though it may be frustrating, he would have to cooperate in order to gain something!

But the current situation was a little different.

Diwu Qingrou knew that he had the advantage in terms of strength, but in actual scheming, he was half a step behind his opponent. That was because he had once made a bold move in an attempt to reap significant gains, exceeding his adversary’s tolerance. At that time, his opponent had not cooperated and instead, struck him in retaliation. Although Diwu Qingrou had not suffered a great loss, he could tell from his opponent’s actions that they were somewhat angry.

In contrast, his opponent had never taken any action that exceeded his own tolerance.

Everything was done within measured, controllable, and manageable boundaries. This showed that his opponent’s sense of restraint was impeccable, never overreaching or acting recklessly. His overall strategy and other aspects were also well-calculated. Elegant and wise, he could laugh at the world’s changes.

Diwu Qingrou exclaimed in admiration, “Truly deserving of the title ‘Nine Tribulations Strategist’! Your reputation is well earned, and you truly possess the demeanor of a great general. However, my recklessness that day served two purposes: one was to test you, and the other was due to the immense pressure from the desires of generations of the Diwu family. You do not have this kind of pressure, which is why I lost that round.”

“But I must not make the same mistake again! So, who will ultimately win is still uncertain. Now that I have recognized my mistake, and my strength is several times greater than yours, the initiative is still in my hands.”

“No matter what, to be able to fight wholeheartedly against such an opponent is a life well lived!” These were the words in Diwu Qingrou’s heart.

After using rumors to create momentum for himself, Diwu Qingrou could clearly feel that the gazes of the experts in the camp were now different when they looked at him.

Under the pressure and fighting spirit, Diwu Qingrou also felt a slight sense of elation. It was not complacency, but rather the feeling that the goal he had worked towards his entire life was now within reach!

Almost within his grasp!

For over ten thousand years, the Diwu family had sought to restore their reputation. However, they had been repeatedly suppressed by the Zhuge family every time they showed any sign of progress, turning their ambition into a luxury for countless generations.

Now, at last, they saw a glimmer of hope!

And it was the hope of unifying the world!

For Diwu Qingrou had never imagined that the Diwu family would have such a powerful backing.

The Law Enforcer!

Two days had passed without any action, and Diwu Qingrou thought to himself, surely his opponent must be getting restless?

Now, it was time for him to plan his next move.

With these thoughts in mind, Diwu Qingrou headed toward the main tent.

It was daytime.

“Commander, the enemy has made a move,” a messenger reported hastily as he met Diwu Qingrou halfway.

“Oh?” A smile formed secretly in Diwu Qingrou’s heart: his opponent indeed could not bear it any longer.

“The intelligence suggests that the enemy appears to be sending a large number of troops our way, seemingly preparing for a decisive battle,” the man reported nervously.

“A large number of troops? Preparing for a decisive battle?” Diwu Qingrou nearly laughed.

The situation was truly absurd. With the opponent’s strength, on what grounds could they challenge us to battle? They could only slowly drag things out, and definitely not choose to engage in a decisive battle!

“Indeed,” said Diwu Qingrou softly. “So it seems the enemy has sent their forces…” He paused suddenly, and said, “Repeat what you just said, word for word, and don’t make any mistakes!”

The man hesitated for a moment, recalling the message, and said, “According to the intelligence, it appears that a large number of enemy troops are heading in our direction, seemingly prepared for a decisive battle… Is this what I said?”

“Exactly!” Diwu Qingrou nodded. “It is indeed what you said, and within your statement are the words ‘it appears.’ Is this the exact phrasing of the intelligence?”

“Yes,” the man nodded.

“It appears… haha, it appears…” Diwu Qingrou shook his head. “It appears that there are a large number of troops… How interesting. Issue an order to gather the heads of the major families for a meeting.”

“Yes.”

“The sooner, the better!”

“Yes.”

In just a moment’s time, everyone had swiftly gathered. Within the central tent, Lan Mofeng guarded the communication jade, unmoving. His current task was to maintain the jade using his own cultivation, ensuring smooth communication. Under normal circumstances, such a high-level expert like him wouldn’t be needed for this task, but given the urgency of the situation, no one had any objections when Diwu Qingrou suggested Lan Mofeng for the job.

Everyone had taken their seats, their eyes all fixed on Diwu Qingrou.

“Any new information?” Diwu Qingrou asked Lan Mofeng.

“Nothing new, only the message I received earlier,” Lan Mofeng replied. “A large number of enemy troops are heading our way, and they have already crossed the area where our intelligence agents are stationed.”

“Is it a single unit or several units?” Diwu Qingrou asked further.

“One large unit!” Lan Mofeng immediately responded.

“Are there any notable differences between the enemy’s current formation and their previous actions?” Diwu Qingrou asked with a furrowed brow, his voice calm and collected.

“It is exactly the same as any of their previous actions, only this time, their numbers are larger,” Lan Mofeng replied candidly.

“But this larger scale has an ‘it appears’ attached to it…” Diwu Qingrou’s brow furrowed even more, as he asked, “Is that correct?”

After a brief moment of consideration, Lan Mofeng said, “Yes, that’s correct!”

“Immediately contact our agents!” Diwu Qingrou waved his hand. “Find out what this ‘it appears’ is all about!”

Lan Mofeng immediately channeled his energy, and the communication jade brightened up instantly!

A message came through from the other side right away: “Leader Lan, what can I do for you?”

The prompt response indicated that someone had been waiting by the communication jade on the other side. Diwu Qingrou nodded slightly in approval.

“Why was there an ‘it appears’ in the intelligence just now?” Lan Mofeng immediately asked. “It appears that a large number of troops are heading this way? What does ‘it appears’ mean? When did the appearance of a decisive battle become something you can assess?!”

The voice on the other side grew slightly anxious as they answered, “Here’s the thing, their posture is no different from before, but this time they appeared in a horizontal line. From our position, we can only see their side view; we would need to wait for them to pass before we can determine the number of troops. However, after they passed, they deliberately kicked up a cloud of snow dust to obscure their figures. We could only estimate their numbers based on the range of the snow dust… As for the appearance of a decisive battle, it’s because they were moving very fast, almost at full speed… So, we thought…”